# Hi, I'm a depressed writer who is NOT publishing a book **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555 "2003-10-31T00:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/21 "2003-10-31T15:07:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*Does a writer ever resubmit a previously rejected book once she has attained the status of an accomplished and published author? If so, is the previously rejected book typically accepted gladly by the unsuspecting publisher? \*\* Nothing is ever “accepted gladly” by _my_ unsuspecting publisher. “Begrudgingly” I think would describe it better. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/22 "2003-10-31T15:16:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*Deadly is a “she?” What the fuck. My mind will be a bit off-kilter for the remainder of the day. > > And I thought Lissener was a woman, too. My radar is failing… \*\* When I first came here, I thought Gaudere was a man and that she and DavidB were lovers. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/23 "2003-10-31T21:41:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > > **BlackClaw** , is it a d20 manual? What’s the setting? > > Thanks for all the words of encouragement, everyone. [sub]And for the record, I’m a “she.” The name comes from my love of and skill with sniper rifles in FPS games.[/sub] It is a D20 and the setting is World War II which should leave me wide open to all types of “historical inaccuracy” complaints by folks who will disagree with the vehicle template layouts I’m using or the damage value I’ve assigned to the K98 mauser. But I’m enough of a history geek to love such discussions. We’ll be needing play testers at some point. Send me an email if you are interested. (I just realized that I need to update my email profile - [blackclaw@woh.rr.com](mailto:blackclaw@woh.rr.com) is my correct email now) You should open up a cafe society thread discussing favorite sniper rifles in fps games. My current favorite - Gewehr 43 in Battlefield 1942. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/24 "2003-10-31T21:50:28Z")
You need a Paladin with the protection from evil built in to approach corporate management. A +5 vorpal sword against bullshitters and examples of the Peter Principle would help. Remember: bosoms “heave,” bodices “rip.” Nuclear submarines can use insects for propulsion. Lawyers always run to the Caribbean. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/25 "2003-10-31T22:04:26Z")
Hands down: Mona Sax’s Dragunov SVD in Max Payne 2. > [@](#): > > Remember: bosoms “heave,” bodices “rip.” Nuclear submarines can use insects for propulsion. Lawyers always run to the Caribbean. And you can make your own lockpicks out of hacksaw blades. (really you can). One thing I’m loving with my latest book is the amount of stuff I’m learning. I have a lockpick guide bookmarked when I needed to figure out how someone could get lockpicks in Australia when she didn’t have time to wait on an Internet order from the US (you make them yourself). I have two different gun sites bookmarked. I’m becoming an expert in small arms. I learned how a grenade works from [howstuffworks.com](http://howstuffworks.com). It’s a blast. And one day, some guy will be talking guns with my husband and I’ll be able to say, “Well, actually, the Sig 550 sniper is a 5.56mm NATO weapon from Switzerland, not a 7.62mm as you said.” ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/26 "2003-10-31T22:09:42Z")
**Lib** , it can happen. Doris Lessing once submitted a book as Jane Somers, had it rejected and then resubmitted as herself and they bought it. But it makes sense that a novel which is a risk probably will sell better if it has a known name attached than an unknown name. And some writers will sell regardless of the quality of the novel. **Deadly Accurate** , good luck with it all. We’ve got 4 novels out at the moment, we know 2 of them have gone into the next stage of evaluation by committee and the other 2 are probably just buried in the slushpile. If these come back unsold, Mr P will be one very unhappy guy. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/27 "2003-10-31T22:46:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > \*\*Hands down: Mona Sax’s Dragunov SVD in Max Payne 2. > \*\* Ooooh they have the Dragnov in that game? I’ll have to pick it up now. In Operation Flashpoint I loved the Dragnov, although the sights were a little tricky to use. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/28 "2003-11-01T08:40:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > **GuanoLad** , nah, I don’t think I will. The story should really be set in the Forgotten Realms, and WotC owns the rights to that setting. I’ll work on my own novel series instead. I wasn’t suggesting you publish it. Just compare your finished novel with the actual one, and bask in the self-assured glow of being a superior novelist. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/29 "2003-11-01T09:25:11Z")
I just got my first rejection letter this month. It was for a short film (my first) that I submitted to a local independent film festival, but it still sucks. I wasn’t even accepted as an _entrant_. I’m not just not good enough to win, I’m not even good enough to _lose_ their stupid festival. And yeah, I’m keeping the letter for some reason. And next week I’m taking three days off work to go into seclusion and write my next one. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/30 "2003-11-01T15:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Lib, it can happen. Doris Lessing once submitted a book as Jane Somers, had it rejected and then resubmitted as herself and they bought it. Heard the same story about Margaret Atwood. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/31 "2003-11-01T15:40:10Z")
If you want, I’ll accept all your works! _[Note: **Governor Quinn** is neither a publisher nor a literary agent.]_ ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/32 "2003-11-01T16:19:02Z")
Somewhat Off Topic… Scylla, you should write your “Pigface” story as a screenplay. Not sure if there’s enough material there for a feature - maybe it needs fleshing out - but the story as it stands is great -funny, touching, family friendly. Yes, I know, encouraging screenwriting is a crime, but only a misedemeanor. Inciting poetry, on the other hand, is a felony. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/33 "2003-11-01T17:00:26Z")
I read the Pigface story and thought not that he should write a screenplay, but that he definitely needs to finish his books. He has a lot of talent, and that story was great. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/34 "2003-11-01T17:48:44Z")
Well, the axe fell for me. Standard form rejection letter. I didn’t even get the “but we think you have potential and we’re compiling a list of authors for the future” bit. I suck. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/35 "2003-11-02T03:53:58Z")
For your edification and education, here’s some highlights of my stellar career: - circa 1987 – Wrote “Eden Pointe.” Mystery novel left unfinished after two drafts. Pretty much sucked. - circa 1994 – Started collecting material about notable and notorious dates in writers’ lives for “Reader’s Almanac.” Much collecting of birth and death dates. - circa 1995 – Wrote “Biltmortal.” Mystery novel set at Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Left unfinished after two drafts, which took several years to write part-time. Sucked, but not as bad as “Eden Pointe.” - circa 2002-2003 – Flash of inspiration. Revert to old fascinaton with space program and, inspired by Dennis Tito’s trip into space, write comic novel “Ride of My Life.” Work stops when shuttle Columbia explodes. - Today – Still working on “Reader’s Almanac.” Colllated and cross-checked birth and death dates of 2,000 writers. Written about a dozen essays, and need only another 351 essays. Plus, started another mystery novel, about 6,000 words in, and it doesn’t seem to suck as much as “Biltmortal” and “Eden Pointe.” So far, my literary life seems to progress from a state of suck to a state of non-suckiness. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/36 "2003-11-02T07:39:47Z")
> [@](#): > > **pesch** : \* circa 1995 – Wrote “Biltmortal.” Mystery novel set at Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Left unfinished after two drafts, which took several years to write part-time. Oooh? Let me know when you are absolutely through with that idea…Sounds like a good one to me! The Biltmore is _fascinating._ and maybe you have enough time and perspective now to revisit the drafts. Maybe another trip for inspiration? Ever seen the Biltmore at Christmas? **Libertarian** , the originally rejected books get pulled out of the trunks and published all the time once the author has made a name. (Especially fiction) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/37 "2003-11-02T20:33:03Z")
I envy all y’all… Most of the short stories I’ve started, I’ve never finished, and the only one that I’ve actually finished was accepted by a con which I didn’t even get to go to. The con was a whole thing about “young writers”, so I suspect that the only reason it was actually accepted was because it didn’t absolutely blow. I’ve never even gotten a rejection letter, much less an acceptance letter and a check… ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/38 "2003-11-02T21:56:28Z")
I rarely finish my stuff, but some time ago I finished a short story about one of my favoritest characters. I polished it up, printed it out, and sent it off in hope. I now have three rejection letters, though at least one of the guys at _F&SF_ was kind enough to give at least a hint of why he passed on it – it didn’t “grab his attention”. Now I’m torn between trying to make it “more interesting”, just sending it out again as-is, and trying to finish one of the other things I’ve got lying around (which, between six classes and grad school apps, I don’t really have time to do). In the meantime, I think I’ll go down my sorrows in a latte. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/39 "2003-11-02T23:38:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoe \* > \*\*Oooh? Let me know when you are absolutely through with that idea…Sounds like a good one to me! The Biltmore is _fascinating._ and maybe you have enough time and perspective now to revisit the drafts. Maybe another trip for inspiration? Ever seen the Biltmore at Christmas? Oh, I plan on returning to it, eventually, but right now this other mystery series takes precedence. And, yes, the Biltmore is a wonderful place to stage a murder. I’ve been there three times and acquired a number of books about the place. And Christmas is absolutely charming. The price of admission is steep, but it’s definitely worth it. It was a pleasure to read your vote of confidence. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555/40 "2003-11-03T01:13:14Z")
Chin up, and all that. I’m looking forward to dealing with this kind of frustration once I’ve actually got my first novel finished. And Biltmore is great, especially at Christmas. Spend some time walking around the grounds. I’ve gotten a lot of ideas there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-im-a-depressed-writer-who-is-not-publishing-a-book/210555.md?page=3)